LYNWOOD - A former official of the Lynwood Unified School District who admitted diverting more than $700,000 in public money over four years to pay for personal expenses was sentenced last week to eight years in state prison, the District Attorney's Office announced.Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan also ordered William Douglas Agopian, 61, of Santa Ana, to pay $700,000 in restitution to the Lynwood Unified School District and $121,220 to the Franchise Tax Board, said Deputy District Attorney Dana Aratani of the Public Integrity Division.
Agopian pleaded guilty in November to one felony count each of misappropriation of public funds and filing a false tax return.
Agopian, the district's former chief business officer, admitted taking the money from a bank account that had been established to facilitate a sister-city trip to Mexico for Lynwood students, the prosecutor said.